Modern Slavery Requirements in Government Tenders (2026)

Modern Slavery Requirements in Australian Government Tenders

Modern slavery has moved from a peripheral policy topic to a scored evaluation criterion in Australian government tenders. Since the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) came into force on 1 January 2019, Commonwealth entities have been required to assess modern slavery risks in their supply chains — and that obligation flows directly into procurement. If you’re bidding on government work, understanding modern slavery requirements isn’t optional. It’s increasingly a compliance condition and, in many tenders, a scored criterion that affects whether you win.

The Modern Slavery Act 2018: What You Need to Know

The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018 established Australia’s national framework for combating modern slavery, including forced labour, human trafficking, debt bondage, servitude, and the worst forms of child labour.

The Act has two core components relevant to businesses:

Mandatory Reporting

Entities with annual consolidated revenue of $100 million or more must publish an annual Modern Slavery Statement to the Australian Border Force’s online register. The statement must describe:

The entity’s structure, operations, and supply chains
The modern slavery risks in those operations and supply chains
Actions taken to assess and address those risks
How the entity assesses the effectiveness of its actions
The process of consultation with owned or controlled entities

As of 2026, over 7,000 statements have been published on the register, creating a significant body of publicly available supply chain risk information.

Commonwealth Procurement Rules Integration

Critically for government suppliers, the Act requires Commonwealth entities to consider modern slavery risks as part of their procurement processes. The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Guidance for Entities directs agencies to:

Assess modern slavery risks in procurement planning
Include modern slavery-related criteria or conditions in tender documentation
Monitor supplier compliance with modern slavery obligations throughout the contract period

This means modern slavery is not just a reporting obligation — it’s woven into how government agencies buy goods and services.

How Modern Slavery Affects Tender Responses — Even for Smaller Businesses

Here’s where many SMEs make a mistake: they assume that because they’re below the $100 million revenue threshold for mandatory reporting, modern slavery requirements don’t apply to them in tenders. This is wrong.

Government agencies are assessing their own supply chain risks, and you are part of their supply chain. When you bid on a government contract, the agency needs to be satisfied that contracting with you doesn’t introduce modern slavery risk into its procurement.

This means tenders increasingly include:

Mandatory declarations — Requiring you to confirm that your operations and supply chains are free from modern slavery practices
Supply chain transparency questions — Asking you to describe your supply chains and identify any high-risk elements
Scored evaluation criteria — Awarding points for the quality of your modern slavery risk management
Contractual conditions — Requiring ongoing modern slavery compliance throughout the contract period, including the right for the agency to audit your supply chain

The Department of Finance’s guidance to procurement officials specifically recommends including modern slavery considerations in evaluations for contracts involving:

Goods manufactured overseas (particularly in high-risk countries)
Labour-intensive services (cleaning, security, agriculture, construction)
Complex or opaque supply chains
Textiles, electronics, and raw materials sourcing

What Procurement Officials Look For

When evaluating your modern slavery response, procurement officials assess several dimensions.

Awareness and Commitment

Do you demonstrate genuine understanding of what modern slavery is and why it matters? Officials can tell the difference between a boilerplate statement and a response that reflects actual engagement with the issue. Reference the Modern Slavery Act and your obligations under it. If your organisation has a published Modern Slavery Statement, reference it and provide a link.

Supply Chain Visibility

Can you describe your supply chains clearly? This means knowing:

Who your direct suppliers are (Tier 1)
Where your suppliers source their inputs from (Tier 2 and beyond, to the extent possible)
Which countries and regions are involved in your supply chain
Which elements of your supply chain involve high-risk industries, countries, or labour practices

For service-based businesses, supply chain visibility includes understanding the labour arrangements in your workforce — including subcontractors, labour hire, and any overseas workers.

Risk Assessment

Have you conducted a modern slavery risk assessment? This involves:

Identifying which parts of your supply chain carry the highest modern slavery risk
Using recognised frameworks and data sources (such as the Global Slavery Index, US Department of Labor’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, or the Walk Free Foundation resources)
Assessing risk based on industry, geography, and labour model factors
Prioritising the highest risks for action

Due Diligence Actions

What are you actually doing to manage the risks you’ve identified? Officials expect to see concrete actions, not just good intentions:

Supplier questionnaires or audits — Do you ask your suppliers about their modern slavery practices?
Contractual requirements — Do your supplier contracts include modern slavery clauses?
Training — Have your procurement and management staff been trained on modern slavery identification?
Grievance mechanisms — Do workers in your supply chain have access to complaint or reporting channels?
Remediation processes — If modern slavery is identified, what is your process for response and remediation?

Continuous Improvement

Agencies look for evidence that your approach is maturing over time, not static. Mention any improvements you’ve made to your due diligence processes, supplier engagement, or risk assessment methodology.

How to Write a Modern Slavery Risk Assessment for Tender Responses

When a tender asks for information about your modern slavery risk management, structure your response as follows.

Policy Statement (1-2 paragraphs)

State your organisation’s commitment to preventing modern slavery. Reference the Modern Slavery Act 2018 and any relevant internal policies. If you have a standalone Modern Slavery Policy, attach it or reference it.

Supply Chain Overview (2-3 paragraphs)

Describe your supply chains relevant to the contract being tendered. Be specific about:

Direct suppliers and their locations
Nature of the goods or services they provide
Whether any supply chain elements involve countries identified as high-risk in the Global Slavery Index
Whether any supply chain elements involve high-risk industries (garment manufacturing, agriculture, construction, mining, electronics assembly)

Risk Assessment Summary (1-2 paragraphs or table)

Present your assessment of modern slavery risk in your supply chain. A simple risk table works well:

Supply chain element
Country or region
Industry risk level
Geographic risk level
Overall risk rating
Due diligence measures applied

For lower-risk supply chains (e.g., Australian-based professional services firms with domestic suppliers), it’s acceptable to note that your assessment has identified low inherent risk, provided you explain how you reached that conclusion.

Due Diligence Actions (bulleted list)

List the specific actions you take to manage modern slavery risk. Be concrete. Examples include:

Annual supplier self-assessment questionnaire covering labour practices, subcontracting arrangements, and modern slavery awareness
Modern slavery clauses in all supplier contracts above $50,000
Modern slavery awareness training for procurement staff (completed annually)
Grievance mechanism available to workers through an anonymous reporting channel
Annual review of supply chain risk assessment

Monitoring and Reporting (1 paragraph)

Explain how you monitor compliance and report on modern slavery. If your organisation publishes a Modern Slavery Statement, state this and provide the link to the Australian Border Force register.

Practical Steps for SMEs

Smaller businesses often feel overwhelmed by modern slavery requirements, particularly when they’re primarily service providers with straightforward supply chains. Here’s a practical approach scaled for SMEs.

Step 1: Map Your Supply Chain

List your key suppliers — the businesses you buy goods and services from. For each, note:

What they supply
Where they’re located
Where they source their inputs (if known)

For a domestic professional services firm, this might be as simple as IT equipment suppliers, office supplies, subcontractors, and cloud service providers.

Step 2: Assess Risk Using Available Data

Use the Global Slavery Index (globalslaveryindex.org) to check the risk profile of any countries in your supply chain. Purely domestic supply chains with Australian-based suppliers generally carry lower risk, but it’s not zero — labour exploitation occurs in Australia, particularly in cleaning, agriculture, construction, and food processing.

Step 3: Create a Simple Modern Slavery Policy

You don’t need a 50-page document. A one-to-two page policy covering your commitment, risk assessment approach, supplier expectations, and reporting mechanism is sufficient for most SME tender responses.

Step 4: Add Modern Slavery Clauses to Supplier Contracts

Include a clause requiring your suppliers to:

Comply with all applicable modern slavery legislation
Not use forced, bonded, or child labour
Allow you to audit their compliance (even if you don’t intend to exercise this right frequently, having the contractual ability matters)
Report any known or suspected modern slavery in their operations or supply chains

Step 5: Train Your Team

Ensure staff involved in procurement and supplier management understand the basics of modern slavery — what it is, what the red flags are, and what to do if they suspect it. The Australian Border Force provides free online resources and guidance materials for businesses of all sizes.

State and Territory Requirements

While the Commonwealth Act is the primary legislation, state and territory frameworks are evolving. New South Wales introduced the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW) with a lower reporting threshold of $50 million annual turnover, though its commencement has been deferred pending harmonisation with the Commonwealth scheme. The NSW Procurement Policy Framework includes modern slavery considerations in its standard evaluation requirements.

Other states don’t have standalone modern slavery legislation but incorporate modern slavery considerations into their procurement frameworks. Victoria’s Social Procurement Framework, for example, includes ethical supply chain requirements that encompass modern slavery considerations.

When bidding on state or territory tenders, check the specific procurement framework for modern slavery requirements. They vary in detail and emphasis, but the trend is clearly toward stronger requirements across all jurisdictions.

The Trend Is Clear: Prepare Now

Modern slavery requirements in government procurement are tightening, not loosening. The Commonwealth Government’s review of the Modern Slavery Act (completed in 2024) recommended strengthening compliance mechanisms and potentially lowering the reporting threshold. Agencies are becoming more sophisticated in their evaluation of supplier responses.

Businesses that develop genuine, proportionate modern slavery risk management now will be well-positioned as requirements continue to evolve. Those that treat it as a tick-box exercise risk being exposed when agencies begin more rigorous verification.

For guidance on addressing other evaluation criteria in government tenders, see our comprehensive guide on how to win government tenders in Australia. And if you’re looking to find relevant opportunities across all Australian government sources, see how to find government tenders.

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